Pierced mountain
Master thesis
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https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3073889Utgivelsesdato
2023-06Metadata
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This diploma thesis investigates how the built structures of Gaustatoppen can meet the needs of the increasing number
of all-year-round visitors without compromising the mountain landscape. Gaustatoppen (1883 m) is one of the most visited mountains in Norway. The areas around are relatively flat, which makes the mountain stand in significant contrast with its oblong and pointed shape. The mountain contains one of the largest blockfields in Scandinavia. Freeze-thaw activity has fragmented the exposed quartzite rocks in situ, making a dramatic landscape in its shape and surface.
In 1893, a tourist hut was constructed by Telemark Trekking Association on the mountaintop to “promote the beautiful Telemark” (Aase 1993, s. 24). The tourist hut was built with stones found on site, 73 years after the first official climb in 1810. Today, several buildings are located on the mountain top, including a small weather station, radio tower with its base, former military apartment, and link hut.
Each year around 100 000 people visit the mountain (SNL 2021). Until 2010, Gaustatoppen was only reachable by foot in summer and skis in winter. However, most parts of the formerly secret and closed-off military facility opened to the public when the Norwegian Army sold the facility to Tinn municipality, based in Rjukan. A commercially run funicular inside the mountain now carry tourists up and down the mountain throughout the year, often with the sole purpose of looking at and experiencing the panoramic view towards 1/6 of Norway.
Different stakeholders want to use the mountain as a catalysator for attracting tourists. However, the number of visitors poses
a challenge to protecting nature in the area. The Trekking Association, DNT, operates in the middle ground between commercial and protective interests. They have expressed their need to expand the existing tourist hut, to meet the needs of the increasing number of visitors. The purpose of this diploma is to suggest a strategy for building in this type of environment with the tourist hut as a case study for intervention.